New Home Building and Investment Property Tips and News

And so my building journey begins! I thought it would be great to start a blog on the building of my own family home. Considering this is what my business is about...Building a new home!!I will talk about all the steps that need to be taken from buying the land to selecting colours! Giving everyone an idea on what is involved in building.This is our fifth build! My husband and I love building and we surprisingly agree on colour schemes! I think we would be really grumpy with each other if we had to renovate.. too much stress and too much mess!!This picture is our block of land. We brought the land in April 2017-paid our $1000 deposit and then paid 5% of the land price on "exchange of contracts" 2 weeks later.The block wasn't even "built" ,all we could see was a big giant pile of dirt up on the hill and knew it was around that area according to the estate plan. From this plan we could also tell the measurements of the block and the slope the land would probably have. For our block the slope is under half a metre.This is the tricky bit with banks...they can't actually identify the block in these early stages,most people have a pre approval from the bank(the bank tells them how much they can borrow) at this stage and then it is a matter of taking a "leap of faith" with paying the deposit to exchange contracts because the formal loan approval cannot happen until closer to Registration.Registration is where the land is registered with the LPI office (land and property information) and the boundaries are clearly marked and can be identified by Council.This is also the time that the builder can see the land clearly and the bank can send the valuer out to look at the land.Buying a block of land off the plan happens all the time.The land sells so quickly in Newcastle that land developers release stages for sale with a registration date 6-12 months after the sale.Around January this year we were given notice that our land would be registering very soon,so we needed to organise our Finance. Up to this point we had a pre-approval and so it was action stations when were given this notice and all our pay slips and other information were forwarded to the bank so a bank valuation could be ordered for the Formal approval to be given,We had house plans drawn up by then as well, we are building with one of our Fixed Priced Turn-key builders.They have their own architect who, for a fee ,can draw up a concept plan with all the ideas you have in mind and present it to the builder for the fixed price. This is an awesome service because we were very clear on what we wanted and couldn't find that within their standard plans.Our block registered mid February this year ,as soon as this happened we were given notice that we needed to Settle on the land within 2 weeks.We are now waiting for Settlement and are checking that everything is okay with the bank and conveyancer for settlement day.After settlement happens the builder can move forward with the building process!!This will be the next exciting step!​Kerri-Ann

It can a very exciting time when you start making plans to build your own home. A few keys steps to follow will help make the process a little smoother.

Government Grants - Great opportunities are still available for first homeowners in the form of government grants a great help with the financial aspect of building your dream home.

The First Home Owner Grant (New Homes) scheme is offered at $15,000 and is available to first homeowners building their home. From 1st January 2016 it will reduce to $10,000 (information correct as at July 2015). There is also a stamp duty concession for first homeowners buying land valued at under $300,000. There is also a $5,000 grant available for those building their second or third home which in some circumstances can contribute to the payment of the stamp duty. Be sure to discuss these options with your mortgage broker or lender. Office of State Revenue http://www.osr.nsw.gov.au/grants/fhog .

Pricing of your final house package - When researching the price of your new home, it is important to be aware of all items that are included - or not included - in the final price.